Middletown High School sustainability fair explores work of area businesses, groups

By Press Staff

Updated
12:22 pm EST, Tuesday, December 12, 2017

The Middletown High School Agricultural Science Center was the setting recently for the institution’s first sustainability fair.

The Middletown High School Agricultural Science Center was the setting recently for the institution’s first sustainability fair.

Photo: Courtesy Photo

Photo: Courtesy Photo

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The Middletown High School Agricultural Science Center was the setting recently for the institution’s first sustainability fair.

The Middletown High School Agricultural Science Center was the setting recently for the institution’s first sustainability fair.

Photo: Courtesy Photo

Middletown High School sustainability fair explores work of area businesses, groups

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MIDDLETOWN — The high school’s recent sustainability fair featured 10 exhibits on virtually every aspect of land and resources preservation.

As part of each display, a professional employed in the field explained the program to the nearly 200 students who visited the fair at the Middletown High School Agricultural Science Center.

The idea grew out of social studies teacher Daniel Lowry’s sustainability class at Central Connecticut State University in New Britain, according to a press release. Lowry is pursing a second masters degree as part of his program for a PhD. in geography.

“Middletown is such a center for the sustainability movement,” Lowry said in a prepared statement. “One if the requirements of the course is a community component, and I thought a fair in which we could bring all such groups together might be a good idea. I found all these organizations that wanted to get involved,” he added.

Among those in attendance were Mayor Dan Drew and Superintendent of Schools Michael Conner.

“I was impressed about how this teaches kids a sense of the environment and its connection to social justice,” Drew said in the release. “They understand that science, public policy and social responsibility are integrated. All of that is imbued very well here at MHS.”

Connor took over as superintendent in early November. “Under the leadership that (Principal Colleen) Weiner has displayed, teachers and students are engaged in a phenomenal activity here today. This is one of the great things happening at Middletown High School,” he said in the statement.

Among the organizations with exhibits were the Middletown Land Trust, Middletown Clean Energy Task Force, Forest City Farms, Connecticut Forest and Parks Association, Herd Restaurant, U.S. Department of Agriculture/Natural Resources Conservation Service, Connecticut Coastal Conservation District and others.

Students who attended included those in both advanced placement human geography courses taught by Lowry and Trevor Charles. The school’s science classes were also invited.

Many of the groups, such as Forest City Farms, offer students volunteer positions to help in sustainability efforts.

“We lease land from the city and work to get the land back to being usable,” Colby Russo said about Forest City Farms in the press release. “We also keep bees on the property and we end up growing local produce for local people. We run a farmers market and we give local produce to the Amazing Grace Food pantry.”